Ayodhya Kaanda
88 - Departure of Bharata and Satrughna with the citizens of Ayodhya to the woods
Chaupais
Description
Much afflicted at heart like the male and female Cakravaka birds, the men and women of the city longed for the dawn. They kept awake the whole night till it was daybreak, when Bharata summoned his wise counsellors and said to them, "Take all that is necessary for the installations ceremony; the sage (Vasistha) will crown Sri Rama even in the forest. Start expeditiously." Hearing this the ministers greeted him and had the horses, chariots and elephants immediately equipped. Taking with him his wife, Arundhati, and the requisites for Agnihotra* (offering oblations into the sacred fire) the chief of sages, Vasistha, was the first to mount the chariot and led the way. Hosts of Brahmanas, who were all repositories of austerity and spiritual glow followed in vehicles of various kinds. The people of the city followed next; having equipped their own conveyances they all left for Citrakuta. All the queens journeyed in palanquins which were lovely beyond words.